Wade, Durant lead All-Star voting

The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchange•December 26, 2013

Miami Heat forward LeBron James and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant are the top vote-getters from their respective conferences for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game in the latest results announced by the league on Thursday. James is the overall leader with 854,105 votes. He is followed in the Eastern Conference by forward Paul George (712,808) of the Indiana Pacers and forward Carmelo Anthony (580,795) of the New York Knicks. James' Heat teammate, Dwyane Wade, leads Eastern Conference backcourt players with 565,455 votes. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (524,000) is next. In the Western Conference frontcourt balloting, Durant (850,728) is ahead of Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (408,623) and Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (399,357). Durant leads the NBA in scoring this season. The West's backcourt leaders are injured Kobe Bryant (723,031) of the Los Angeles Lakers and Chris Paul (533,647) of the Los Angeles Clippers. One of the closest races is in the Western Conference frontcourt. Griffin leads Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (377,941) by fewer than 20,000 votes. Fans are able to vote worldwide via social media and through various methods through Jan. 20. The starters will be announced on Jan. 23. The NBA All-Star Game will be played Feb. 16 in New Orleans.